Black Dogs Have it Tough at Shelters

Did you know that if you are a medium sized black dog, with medium length hair, and you are over a year old, you will likely wait longer than any other dog to be adopted out of a shelter? The problem is called “Black Dog Syndrome” and it affects shelters nationwide. Why?

• Black is a dominant color, so there simply are more black dogs, and, consequently, there are more black dogs in shelters.
• Black dogs with dark eyes reflect less light so their features and expressions are harder to see.
• Black dogs don’t stand out against multi-colored or light-colored dogs.

Because of these facts, one shelter found that potential adopters only looked at black dogs 22% of the time. And dogs that are not black are 2 to 3 times more likely to be adopted out in their first week. The sad fact is that black dogs average much longer stays in shelters than other dogs. Long stays result in more stress. We’d love to help these guys get out more quickly.